May is Better Speech and Hearing Month! Our Cooper team includes speech-language pathologists, also called SLPs, work to prevent, assess, diagnose, and treat speech, language, social communication, cognitive-communication, and swallowing disorders in children and adults.
- Speech disorders occur when a person has difficulty producing speech sounds correctly or fluently or has problems with his or her voice or resonance.
- Language disorders occur when a person has trouble understanding others (receptive language), or sharing thoughts, ideas, and feelings (expressive language).
- Social communication disorders occur when a person has trouble with the social use of verbal and nonverbal communication. All individuals with autism spectrum disorder have social communication problems. Social communication disorders are also found in individuals with other conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.
- Cognitive-communication disorders include problems organizing thoughts, paying attention, remembering, planning, and/or problem-solving. These disorders usually happen as a result of a stroke, traumatic brain injury, or dementia, although they can be congenital.
- Swallowing disorders (dysphagia) are feeding and swallowing difficulties, which may be congenital or follow an illness, surgery, stroke, or injury.
If you or a loved one is experiencing difficulty in any of these areas, consult a speech-language pathologist. The Cooper Speech and Hearing Department at Three Cooper Plaza in the Sheridan Pavilion, Suite 511, provides speech therapy services to inpatients and outpatients from newborns to senior citizens. Please call 856.342.3060 to schedule an appointment.